Outdoor decks are extremely popular in residential home construction. Homes and apartments, as well as a variety of other buildings, often incorporate exterior decks into their design. Additionally, decks are commonly added onto existing structures and landscapes. These decks provide convenient spaces for a variety of outdoor activities, including cookouts, dining and sunbathing, as well as other leisure activities. Moreover, decks typically are provided with a railing or perimeter fence to keep people from falling over the edge of the deck.
Wood products traditionally have been the primary source of materials for use in decking construction. However, wood products are becoming increasingly scarce due to the harvesting of trees at ever faster rates and the rather limited rate at which timber resources can be replenished. Also, environmental concerns and regulations directed to conservation or preservation of forests tend to restrict the availability of wood products. With the diminishing availability of timber resources, wood products are becoming increasingly expensive. There is, therefore, a substantial need for long-lasting substitute construction materials that can lessen the need to harvest timber resources.
One potential approach to addressing the above need is to provide substitute decking products made of plastic, rather than wood. However, because the deck products must be capable of sustaining certain loads, the replacement products need to be stable and rigid. The material should also be capable of economical manufacture, and be relatively inexpensive. It also needs to be easily installed and used in the field.
A variety of plastic building products are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,603 describes a three-layer synthetic construction material made from recycled waste thermoplastic synthetic resin material and cellulose fiber aggregate. This material includes face surfaces consisting essentially of re-hardened fused and rolled thermoplastic synthetic resin material bits, and an intervening core material consisting essentially of a compressed non-homogenous mixture of cellulose aggregate material bits and re-hardened fused thermoplastic synthetic resin material bits.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,245 describes an apparatus for producing a light structural board of thermoplastic resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,458 describes a simulated log made from a cast polyvinlychloride (PVC) pipe, selectively filled with a hard cast foam or bead type foam. This patent further describes that the cast PVC pipe is first manufactured and then subsequently filled with the foam filler.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,697 of Erwin (also the current Applicant) describes a composite deck post for use with a wood joist of wood deck which includes an elongate, hollow, extruded plastic shell in which an elongate tubular metal stiffening member is positioned therewithin and is rigidly secured thereto using a metal fastener that extends through the plastic shell and the stiffening member. While this arrangement serves as an excellent replacement for traditional lumber products, in many situations it may be desirable to eliminate the use of the metal fastener extending through the plastic shell to secure the metal stiffening member therewithin.
Accordingly, it can be seen there is a need yet in the art for replacement decking components as a replacement for traditional wood products, which provide a strong finished product at minimal cost, which are weather resistant and which can be produced and installed easily. It is to the provision of such decking components that the present invention is primarily directed.